Five Reasons Cleveland Marathon Weekend is the Best!

May 4, 2018

Cleveland Marathon weekend is almost upon us. It’s an exciting weekend for the city. Check out these five reasons Cleveland Marathon weekend is the best!

I can’t believe it’s May. This will be one of my busiest months in recent memory. All exciting things, of course, but busy nonetheless. One of the big things coming up in just 15 days is the kick-off to Cleveland Marathon weekend! It’s one of my favorite weekends of the year for so many reasons. For brevity’s sake, I’ll pick the top five reasons Cleveland Marathon weekend is the best!

Five Reasons Cleveland Marathon Weekend is the Best!

1. VIP reception

One of the best parts of the Cleveland Marathon weekend is the VIP reception on Friday night. The VIP reception kicks off the festivities and really sets the mood for the rest of the weekend. I’ve seen what goes on behind the scenes and I’m certain everyone enjoys a bit of a night off before the craziness of the weekend begins!

Because yum.

2. Fellow ambassadors

I’ve gotten to know some of my fellow ambassadors pretty well over the last three or so years and I really enjoy their company. And I’m really looking forward to meeting the new ambassadors this year! Particularly Kim! We share a lot of similarities. Although we seem to disagree about the weather. So… #crickets 😉

3. Reuniting with running buddies

Although I do run races earlier than May (sometimes), it seems I always reconnect with running buddies at the Cleveland Marathon. Knowing I’ll see lots of familiar faces on race day makes the race that much more exciting. Last year I ran with my friend Will and we had a grand old time running the half marathon route together before splitting up (he ran the full). Who will I get to run with this year?

4. Finish line party

The finish line party is always entertaining. Unless of course it’s hailing or snowing. Then it’s less fun. But then it wouldn’t be Cleveland — would it?

5. Post-race brunch

Last year was my first year attending the post-race brunch for VIPs. Since 2016 was freezing cold and all that… The post-race brunch spread was amazing. I fully plan on attending this year!

The most Cleveland race ever.

-1. Missing my bestie

That’s right. There’s one big, fat negative to this year’s race. This will be the first year I’m running Cleveland without my friend Julie. You probably know her from all my training and race recaps, and definitely my Instagram posts. I’m super sad she won’t be running this year but I know we have many more miles to look forward to together!

If you’re registered for Cleveland, I hope to see you there. I’ll be running the half. And if you haven’t registered, you might have seen that registration officially closed on May 1.

Well I’ve got GREAT NEWS! Registration reopens TODAY (5/4) for all the Cleveland races! So if you’re interested in seeing what the fuss is all about, use code RFCLE10 for 10% off your registration and SIGN UP before it’s too late!!!

Someday, dear Rachel, I hope to be there! Although this final spring with a high schooler has been nonstop busy, I will be out of my mind bored NEXT spring and will need to fill up some voids in downtime 😉

Hahaha we will always disagree about the weather 🙂 I’m really looking forward to race weekend! I’ll definitely be at the VIP reception on Friday and maybe the brunch on Sunday (depends on how I feel post-race). I’m also volunteering at the Expo on Friday afternoon!

I love that photo of the group photo 😉 My favorite hometown race weekend is the Flying Pig because there is so much going on the whole weekend. I never got to experience the VIP treatment at a race, but I’d love to!

I’ve never run Cleveland, actually I haven’t ever run a marathon. But I have a half marathon this year and a ragnar relay next year with some other stuff between and I’m really excited for everything about those!

There are a few races that I love to run year to year – and it good that Cleveland is that race for you! It stinks that your BRF won’t be able to be there, but with so many awesome friends and ambassadors, you will surely have a blast!